Daniil Romanovich of Halych (1201-1264)
}} Daniil I Romanovich of Halych or Danylo Halytskyi ( ) was a King of Halych (1205–1255), Peremyshl (1211), and Volodymyr (1212–1231). He was crowned by a papal archbishop in Dorohochyn 1253 as the first King of Rus' (1253–1264). Biography In 1205, after the death of his father, Roman II Mstislavich, the ruler of Halych–Volhynia, the boyars of Halych forced the four-year-old Daniil into exile with his mother Anna-Euphrosyne and his brother Vasilko Romanovich. After the boyars proclaimed one of their own as prince in 1213, the Poles and Hungarians invaded the principality, ostensibly to support the claims of young Daniil and Vasilko, and divided it between themselves. In 1219 he renounced his claims to Halych in favor of his father-in-law Mstislav the Bold. In 1221 Daniil re-established his rule over Volhynia, where the boyars and populace had remained loyal to his dynasty. In 1234 he defeated Aleksandr Vsevolodovich, taking Pincipality of Belz. By 1238, he had defeated the Dobrzyń Knights in the Battle of Dorogochin (1238), and regained most of the Principality of Halych, including the capital Halych. While the Prussians were under pressure from the Teutonic Order, Daniil attempted to conquer the related Yatvingians. The following year, Daniil acquired Kiev, the traditional capital of the defunct state of Kievan Rus'. Faced with the Mongol menace, he sent his commander Dmytro to defend the city. However, after a long siege its walls were breached and despite fierce fighting within the city, Kiev fell on December 6, 1240 and was largely destroyed. A year later, the Mongols passed through the principalities of Halych and Volhynia while campaigning against the Poles and Hungarians, destroying the capital Halych. On August 17, 1245, Daniil defeated a combined force of the Prince of Chernihiv, disaffected boyars, and Hungarian and Polish (see also Order of Dobrin) elements at Yaroslav and finally took the remainder of Halych, thus reconstituting his father's holdings. He made his brother Vasilko Romanovich ruler of Volhynia and retained the title of Prince of Halych for himself, though he continued to exercise real powers in both places. (1245-1349).]] Daniil's domestic policies focused on stability and economic growth. During his rule, German, Polish, and Rus' merchants and artisans were invited into Halych, and numbers of Armenians and Jews established themselves in the towns and cities. Daniel founded the towns of Lviv (1256) and Chełm (naming the former for his son), and fortified many others. He appointed officials to protect the peasantry from aristocratic exploitation and formed peasant-based heavy infantry units. Yet Daniil's successes and his failed defense of Kiev attracted the further attention of the Mongols. In 1246, he was summoned to the capital of the Golden Horde at Sarai on the Volga River and was forced to accept Mongol overlordship. According to the Ukrainian historian Orest Subtelny, Daniil was handed a cup of fermented mare's milk by the Mongol khan Batu and told to get used to it, as "you are one of ours now." .]] While formally accepting the Mongols as overlords, and supplying them with soldiers as required, Daniil built a foreign policy around opposition to the Golden Horde. He established cordial relations with the rulers of Kingdom of Poland and Kingdom of Hungary, and requested aid from Pope Innocent IV in the form of a crusade. In return for papal assistance, Daniil offered to place his lands under the ecclesiastical authority of Rome, a pledge never realized. Wooed by the prospect of extending his authority, the pope encouraged Daniel's resistance to the Mongols and his Western orientation, and in 1253, had a papal representative crown Daniel at Dorohochyn on the Bug River. Daniil wanted more than recognition, however, and commented bitterly that he expected an army when he received the crown.John Joseph Saunders. (2001). The history of the Mongol conquests. '' Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, p. 101 The following year, Daniel repelled Mongol assaults led by Orda's son, Kuremsa, on Ponyzia and Volhynia and dispatched an expedition with the aim of taking Kiev. Despite initial successes, in 1259, a Mongol force under Boroldai and Nogai Khan entered Halych and Volhynia and offered an ultimatum: Daniil was to destroy his fortifications or Boroldai would assault the towns. Daniil complied and pulled down the city walls. In the last years of his reign, Daniil engaged in dynastic politics, marrying a son and a daughter to the offspring of Mindaugas of Grand Duchy of Lithuania and acquiring territorial concessions in Poland from the latter. Another daughter of his, Ustynia, was married to Prince Andrei Yaroslavich of Vladimir-Suzdal. He also arranged for the marriage of his son Roman to Gertrude, the Babenberg heiress, but was unsuccessful in his bid to have him placed on the ducal throne of Austria. By his death in 1264, Daniil had reconstructed and expanded the territories held by his father, held off the expansionist threats of Poland and Hungary, minimized Mongol influence on Western Ukraine, and raised the economic and social standards of his domains. He was succeeded in Halych by his son Lev. Family '''Father' * Roman II Mstislavich Prince of Novgorod 1168–1170, Prince of Volhynia 1173–1187, 1188–1205, Prince of Halych 1187–1188, 1199–1205, Grand Prince of Kiev 1203–1205 Mother * Anna-Euphrosyne, allegedly a daughter of Isaac II Angelos Wives * Anna of Novgorod (+ bef. 1252), 1218, daughter of Mstislav the Bold * Sister of Mindaugas (c1220-c1275) 1253 - 1264|NN]], sister of King Mindaugas of Lithuania, bef. 1252 Brother * Vasilko Romanovich (*1203, +1269), Prince of Belz 1207–1211, Prince of Brest 1221–1231, Prince of Volhynia 1231–1269 Sisters * Feodora Romanovna of Halych (+ after 1200), m. 1187 (div 1188) * Yelena Romanovna of Halych (c1190-c1237) * Maria of Halych (+ after 1241), m. before 1200 Michael of Chernigov, sometime Grand Prince of Kiev and ultimately a saint. Sons * Irakli Daniilovich of Halych (c1223-c1240) * Lev Daniilovich of Halych (c1228-c1301), heir to his father, Prince of Belz (1245-1264), Prince of Halych-Volhynia (1264-1301); According to the version of the ESBE King, moved the residence from the Hill to Lviv 35 . * Roman Daniilovich of Halych (c1230-1258) , (killed 1258 36 or 1260 37 ), Prince of Slonimsk, Lutsky (until 1260), Novogrudsky (1254-1260), married to Gertrude , the niece of Frederick II , the last Duke of Austria and Styria from the Babenberg dynasty . * Shvarn Danilovich , († 1269, buried in Holm), Prince of Galich and Grand Duke of Lithuania (1264 (1268) -1269), married to the daughter of the [[Grand Duke of Lithuania Mindaugas. * Mstislav Danilovich († 1292) - Prince Volynsky (since 1289) Daughters * Pereyaslava Danilovna of Halych († April 12, 1283). Zemovit I is married to the prince of Mazovia * Ustyniya Danilovna, married to the Grand Duke of Vladimir, Andrei Yaroslavich * Sofya Danilovna († about 1290), since 1259, married to Henry V, Count of Schwarzburg- Blankenburg (circa 1235-1287). See also * List of Ukrainian rulers * List of rulers of Galicia and Volhynia * Crown of Rus References * External links * Daniel Romanovych at the Encyclopedia of Ukraine * Genealogy of Daniel's family Category:Princes of Halych Category:Princes of Peremyshl Category:Princes of Volhynia 1239 Category:Kings of Rus' Category:13th-century princes in Kievan Rus' Category:Romanovichi family Category:Eastern Orthodox monarchs Category:People from Halych Category:Angelid dynasty